A taste of the finals has come early for the Sydney Swans, who face off against two of the competition’s best sides over the next fortnight.

Speaking before the Swans last training session ahead of Saturday afternoon’s top-of-the-table clash against Hawthorn, coach John Longmire said taking on some of the league’s best teams ahead of the finals is the perfect preparation for his side.

“There is a lot at stake and it’s not often that when you get to the end of the season you have the top couple of sides in the competition playing each other at this point,” he said.

“We’re playing some really good teams and teams that are going to be in the finals and I think that’s a positive.

“We look at the fact that we can have a really hard, sharp hit-out against Hawthorn this week with a lot on the line and that’s what finals games are about as well.”

The Swans are likely to face a near full-strength Hawks outfit, with reports from Hawthorn suggesting star forward Lance Franklin will make his return after a six-week layoff with injury and illness this Saturday.

Despite the lengthy time on the sidelines, Longmire said he doesn’t expect Buddy will have lost any of his ability during his break.

“We can only go on what we read, and Hawthorn have certainly come out and said that they expect (Franklin) to play,” he said.

“Last year in the final there was all talk about him not playing because he had a broken leg and he came out and smacked us.

“He’s a quality player, we all know that and he’s naturally really fit and from what I read he’s been training for three weeks anyway, so I’m sure his touch will be fine.”

With the Hawks leading the competition in goals scored, Longmire also warned that Franklin would not be the Swans only concern up forward this weekend.

“I think (Jack) Gunston, the moment Franklin went out of the team, he’s kicked 19 goals and I think he’s been their highest goal-scorer over that period of time,” he said.

“Their goal scoring has actually gone up with Franklin out of the team, which is a reasonably scary proposition, so when they get Franklin back in it’s only going to add to their scoring powers.

“We understand that they’re the strongest team offensively in the competition and they’ll take some handling, certainly if they get Buddy in.”

Meanwhile, Longmire confirmed that Swans ruckman Mike Pyke is expected to be fit to play this weekend.

Longmire also dismissed rumours reported on Melbourne radio this morning that veteran midfielder Jude Bolton was planning on announcing his retirement this week.

“I think there was a report on the Melbourne radio this morning that he was going to announce his retirement today, which was based on a text message they received,” he said.

“It’s a bit of a concern that you go to air with that after receiving a text message without checking it.

“I was quite astounded by the level of journalism there and I had a couple of calls at 7:30am telling me he was going to retire today at 2:30.

“It’s a big difference to seeing him running around probably doing a few drills today, maybe even playing next week, to retiring.”